The newspaper has today become a medium of mass communication, facilitating both the spread of information and the revival of cultures. The independent press is an essential tool in the democratic process, providing both access to, and a plurality of, information sources.

But in some countries of the world, the print media is handicapped both by poor distribution within national and foreign markets, and by poor technical quality - which discourages advertising, leading to a loss in revenue.

The UNESCO Programme for the Print Media addresses these problems by assisting newspapers in upgrading the technical skills of their staff and by acquiring equipment which meets current technological standards.

Future activities in favour of the print media will centre upon:

establishing technical support for local and commercial initiatives in the print media, with a 'train-the-trainer' scheme;

improving the technical quality and content of the print media;

increasing and broadening readership of the print media.